Conventional lithium batteries or lithium-ion batteries may have a polymeric or ceramic solid electrolyte instead of a liquid electrolyte. By reducing the easily combustible liquid electrolyte or by exchanging it entirely for the solid electrolyte, it is possible to significantly improve the safety behavior of the cell. In addition, parasitic secondary reactions, which may occur between the metallic lithium and the liquid electrolyte, are prevented.
In order, however, to ensure a sufficiently high ion conductivity, it is usually necessary to heat solid electrolytes, or polymer composites or ceramic composites or polymer-ceramic composites, which do without the addition of liquid electrolytes, to relatively high temperatures, since the ion conductivity, for example, at room temperature, is too low. Usual temperatures at which the ion conductivity of the known solid electrolytes may be ensured range, for example, between 70° C. and 100° C. In order to be able to maintain a battery manufactured from a solid electrolyte at these temperatures and to prevent heat losses resulting from the dissipation of heat to the environment in the process, the conventional batteries are usually accommodated in an insulated battery housing. Conventional battery housings particularly effectively curb the heat loss through vacuum insulation or also through other insulation materials.
Another problem is heat loss, which occurs through cable ducts through the insulation, which pass through the battery housing into the interior space or out of the interior space of the battery housing. Cables or connections include data lines and power lines as well as ducts for the supply and discharge of a coolant (for example, water, air, etc.). The heat loss is particularly severe as a result of the very good heat conduction of the electrically conductive materials in the live cables (for example, copper), and may typically be on the same order as the heat loss through the insulation, here in particular, the vacuum insulation. In order to disrupt the dissipation of heat via the live cables, conventional contactors are able to curb but not fully eliminate the heat loss via the cables, since the contactor itself exhibits a certain thermal conductivity. A disruption of data lines is previously unknown, however, so that these invariably cause a heat loss, which cannot be prevented by the insulation material of the battery housing.
An object of the present invention, therefore, is to overcome at least partly the above disadvantages. An object of the present invention is, in particular, to reduce the heat losses, which arise in an insulated battery having a connection line at an elevated operating temperature.